Phil's Fat Diaries

12 weeks ago, Phil Lempert, Today Show contributor, nationally syndicated radio show host, author and the "supermarket guru", put his own weight on notice. No risky diets, no surgery, and without any special foods, Lempert is building a community of Americans who are taking personal responsibility for their weight, health and wellness. Since starting his daily postings of food intake, stress level, water consumption and exercise regime, Lempert has received over 4,000 emails of encouragement and requests from his online community to make the "fat diaries" available to all Americans.

And starting September 15th, that’s just what Lempert is doing. And he is doing it for free. He is asking Americans to join his challenge to the food and diet industry. "In working together and supporting each other, we can show the food and diet industries that we are not going to just buy into the latest fad. We will show them how we will take personal responsibility for our health and turn around this country’s fat epidemic." Lempert says, "It’s not about a miracle diet, expensive food plan, sensational supplement or new wonder drug - it’s about paying attention to what we are eating, our stress levels and how much we are exercising!"

Americans can log on to www.PhilsFatDiaries.com and register their own free Personal Fat Diary. Consumers have a choice to share their daily experiences with others, or to keep their diary private and have the information available just for themselves. There is no cost for either diary option.

A Kaiser Permanente study of 2037 participants enrolled in a weight loss program, found that those who used a "diary" for food consumption 5+ a week lost significantly more weight than those who recorded less frequently. Clarian Health at Indiana University recommends to their weight loss patients that being vigilant about what you eat is critical to a diet’s success. They call it "eating amnesia" and report that those people who are aware of what they eat ate 15% less than those who were not.

Last year, Americans spent over $30 billion on weight loss foods, diets and other products; and the results are depressing! Two out of three Americans are overweight or obese according to the Surgeon General, a 50 percent increase over the decadent 90’s decade. 15 percent of kids ages six to 17 are overweight or obese. The CDC reports that one in four Americans get absolutely no exercise, with just 20 percent "very physically active."

As we approach the holiday season, Lempert reminds us that the average American is expected to add extra pounds - according to some estimates—over 7 pounds, just between Halloween and New Year’s Day. Now is the time, Lempert suggests, to start a Fat Diary. For those who join his fat diary campaign, he predicts that ‘losing weight’ won’t be topping their New Year’s Resolutions for 2004.

According to Lempert, "fat" makes great headlines. But after consumers read the headlines and hear all the grandiose schemes for more walking paths, regulating vending machines in schools, fat taxes, and even new genetic discoveries, people still need to take more responsibility to read those labels, eat better, eat less and exercise more.

About Philip Lempert

An expert on consumer issues, marketing trends, new products and food safety, Lempert is a respected analyst with an uncanny ability to identify and explain trends to both industry and consumers in a thought provoking, entertaining manner. Known as the Supermarket Guru®, Lempert publishes the trends publication The Lempert Report, and is the food trends editor for NBC News’ TODAY Show. Lempert can be heard weekly as host of a live call-in syndicated radio show called Shopping Smart® that airs in over 100 cities nationwide. He’s also a correspondent for BBC radio’s 5 Live Program and columnist for Progressive Grocer magazine. In addition, Lempert is the author of several books including Being the Shopper: Understanding the Buyer’s Choices, Phil Lempert’s Supermarket Shopping & Value Guide, Top Ten Trends for Baby Boomers, and Crisis Management: A Workbook for Survival. Phil is a member of the Advisory Board to the Partnership for Food Safety Education in Washington DC and sits on the Board of Directors of Western Michigan University’s Food Marketing Advisory Board: Haworth College of Business, Department of Marketing.

About SupermarketGuru.com

Founded in 1994 by Philip Lempert, www.SupermarketGuru.com is a leading online resource providing consumers with food safety, products, trends and shopping tips. With more than 4 million visitors annually, consumers have access to breaking food industry news, health and nutrition tips and information. In addition, visitors are invited to join the SupermarketGuru.com Consumer Panel where they have the opportunity to evaluate new products and offer their own candid comments. For more information, please visit www.SupermarketGuru.com.